Hush money trial jury’s guilty verdict against Donald Trump on 34 felony counts sparks debate

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Former President Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts in the historic hush money trial, making him the first former US president to be convicted in a criminal case, reported the New York Post.

The 12-panel New York jury unanimously convicted the presumptive Republican presidential nominee on the second day of deliberations on Thursday, May 30, after weeks of hearing testimonies from witnesses.

"Guilty," the jury foreman declared at the Manhattan Supreme Court after almost 12 hours of deliberations, which he continued for the rest of 33 counts.

Trump heard the bombshell verdict, wearing a bright blue tie, slumped on his seat, looking at the jury panel consisting of seven men and five women.

However, the former president voiced his disappointment while addressing reporters afterward, repeating the claims of the trial being politically motivated and "rigged."

"The real verdict will be Nov 5 by the people," he said to media outside the courtroom. "I'm an innocent man."

Donald Trump to face sentence on July 11

Over the nearly one-and-a-half-month trial, jurors heard testimonies from several witnesses who were connected with Trump's historic hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election to silence her about their sexual encounter.

Former National Enquirer published David Pecker testified about the "catch and kill" scheme he devised to bury negative stories about Trump. Other star witnesses included Daniels and Trump's fixer-turned-foe, Michale Cohen.

The anonymous 12-panel jury found the 45th president falsified business records throughout 2017 to cover up the $130K hush money payment by lying he was paying his then-personal attorney Cohen's legal fees, but in reality, he was reimbursing the payoff to Daniels.

In each of the 34 felony charges, the ex-POTUS could be likely sentenced to probation for up to four years imprisonment. The sentence will be announced on the morning of July 11. Despite the guilty verdict, Judge Juan Merchan said that Trump was free without bail until July 11.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the hush money case against the former president, refused to tell whether he would seek prison time for the convict.

"I did my job. Our job is to follow the facts and the law without fear or favor and that's exactly what we did here," the DA said at a press conference. "There are many voices out there, the only voice that matters is the voice of the jury and the jury has spoken."

Internet has mixed reactions to Donald Trump's guilty verdict in hush money trial

The historic hush money trial verdict led to debate among people online who shared opposing views. While one group welcomed the move, another sided with Trump, empathizing with the outcome.

One user wrote, "A win for the World let alone America and Democracy."

While another argued, "This proves he is our least corrupt President. If he had greased the wheels, he would have been fine."

A third user added, "Yes! Guilty on all 34 counts! I hope he gets 6 mths per count on the basis of his behavior in court and his obvious jury, witness, prosecutor and judge intimidation and tampering and because he is an imminent danger to public safety!"

Whereas a fourth response read, "Sad, this is all game against him."

"This is victory for the courts. Justice has been served. He is not above the law," someone else chimed in.

Meanwhile, an individual said, "Disgusting politicization of American justice. Every one of you should be afraid. We are now no better than a Communist country where you can lock up your opponent with a sham trial."

One user called the verdict, "Best news since 2016!!!!!" On the other hand, another remark read, "With that, Donald Trump will most likely be the next President of the United States."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.